FELLOW SENATORS VOTE TO DENOUNCE DURENBERGER, 96-0

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The Senate took the rare step of punishing one of its own members today, denouncing Senator Dave Durenberger for bringing ''dishonor and disrepute'' to the institution through improper financial dealings.

Acting to discipline a member for the ninth time ever and the first time in more than a decade, the senators approved a resolution denouncing the Minnesota Republican and ordering him to pay restitution.

As Senator Durenberger sat impassively at a front-row desk in the Senate chamber, rubbing his chin with his right hand, his colleagues rose one by one to cast their votes. The vote was 96 to 0.

'I Love This Senate'

Mr. Durenberger and the other Republican from Minnesota, Rudy Boschwitz, voted ''present.'' Senators Larry Pressler of South Dakota and Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming, both Republicans, were absent.

Only after his colleagues voted did Mr. Durenberger rise to address the chamber.

''I love this Senate and cherish the ideals it stands for,'' the 55-year-old Senator said in a soft but unwavering voice. ''If anyone wants to judge my respect for this body and for each of you, I would suggest they look at my actions over the last 22 months to bring this matter to a conclusion.''

Mr. Durenberger, who was elected 12 years ago to fill the unexpired term of Hubert H. Humphrey after the Senator's death, assured his peers: ''If there is a smudge on the Seal of the United States Senate, or on the Star of the North, as we like to call our state, I will work my hardest to polish both back to brightness.''

After the vote, Mr. Durenberger told reporters that he had never considered resigning, but that he had not decided whether to seek re-election in 1994.

The session opened late this afternoon when Senator Howell Heflin, the Ethics Committee chairman, spoke somberly and in great detail about Senator Durenberger's violations of Senate rules in supplementing his income through book promotion and real estate deals.

''The evidence of knowing and willful misconduct,'' said Senator Heflin, an Alabama Democrat, ''is clear and convincing, and far more troubling than Senator Durenberger's admitted negligence, lack of wisdom or asserted misplaced reliance on others.''

Although Mr. Durenberger had previously said the punishment was ''too onerous,'' today he did not dispute the Ethics Committee's recommendation that he be denounced.

The session offered an extraordinary window on the thoughts and pressures faced by senators. For more than three hours before the vote, members of both parties talked not only about Mr. Durenberger's transgressions, speculating that a troubled family life drove him to breaches of the Senate's rules, but also about their friendships with him.

A Drawn-Out Procedure

Many members also volunteered their thoughts on the sensitive atmosphere in Congress on ethics and about what some termed a cumbersome disciplinary process. The Durenberger case took a year and a half to wend its way to the Senate floor. After a long investigation, the Ethics Committee recommended the denunication last week.

In laying out the charges, Mr. Heflin explained the two most serious allegations against Mr. Durenberger. One was that he evaded limits on the amount of speaking fees members can receive from private groups by converting $100,000 worth into promotional fees for two books he wrote. The other was that he engaged in an elaborate financial scheme to lease a condominium he owned in Minneapolis so that he could collect $40,055 in travel reimbursements from the Senate.

Beyond the denunciation, the resolution passed by the Senate today ordered Mr. Durenberger to pay $95,000 to charities for taking more in speaking fees than Senate rules permitted. It also directed him to repay the Senate $29,050 plus interest for travel reimbursements he should not have accepted.

The resolution also asked the Senate's Republicans to consider their own action against Mr. Durenberger, like stripping him of his seniority. But Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island, chairman of the chamber's Republican Conference, said after the vote that the Senate's action was sufficient and that ''the Senate conference plans no action on this.''

Rebukes Have Equal Weight

It was the ninth time in history that a senator had been denounced, condemned or censured, said Donald A. Ritchie, the associate Senate historian. He said all three rebukes were considered of equal weight in the eyes of the Senate and were the harshest sanctions short of expulsion.

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The chamber last passed judgment on a member in 1979, when Senator Herman E. Talmadge, a Georgia Democrat, was denounced for mishandling his financial affairs.

It was not the kind of deliberation senators enjoy, not only because Mr. Durenberger is well liked by many of his colleagues, but also because it is an election year when the ethical standards of Congress have come under keen scrutiny.

But several members spoke frankly and in personal terms about Mr. Durenberger and the Senate.

''When one of us gets in trouble, we're all in trouble,'' said David Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, who is a member of the ethics panel. ''Today I sense a feeling of closeness, a sense of brotherhood.''

Bob Dole, the Republican leader, reflected upon the Senate, saying, ''It's a unique group of 100 Americans, all different, all talented, all dedicated. None perfect.'' He went on to say that ''you can't fake it here, either. You find out in a hurry what your colleagues are all about. So I can tell you all about Dave Durenberger. Dave Durenberger has earned my respect.''

Senator Warren B. Rudman, Republican of New Hampshire and vice chairman of the Ethics Committee, said the panel's private deliberations were painstaking.

''We shed all partisanship and, unfortunately, all friendship,'' he said.

The Senator told his colleagues that ''one of the most revealing statements'' by Mr. Durenberger was made when he testified privately to the committee that at certain points ''my judgment was impaired.''

''It had to be a difficult thing to say,'' Mr. Rudman said. Mr. Durenberger, who was sitting nearby, nodded agreement. ''There are 100 stories in this chamber of personal problems.'' Senator Rudman said. ''We are all human beings first and, second, United States senators.''

Some members remarked on how difficult it would be to be in Mr. Durenberger's position, watching his standing as Minnesota's most popular politician plummet as his personal troubles mounted. Most spoke more of Mr. Durenberger's virtues than of his ethical misdeeds.

''I feel a special sense of discomfort since I have worked closely with Senator Durenberger for many years,'' said George J. Mitchell of Maine, the Senate Democatic leader.

Handshakes, Embraces and Tears

''After all this is over and we denounce him,'' said Senator William L. Armstrong, Republican of Colorado, ''we still want him to be our friend.''

As his colleagues listened in silence, Mr. Durenberger told them that the experience had been a ''costly education'' and asked for their forgiveness and their continued friendship.

''I have reordered my personal and professional priorities,'' he said, ''to be first a better man and, then, a better Senator.''

The session ended in rare displays of emotion as dozens of senators walked over to Mr. Durenberger to shake his hand. Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, embraced him, as did Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat whose own father was censured by the Senate in 1967 for financial misconduct.

Alan K. Simpson also hugged his friend and colleague, then the Wyoming Republican sat back in his chair and wiped tears from his eyes.

A version of this article appears in print on July 26, 1990, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: FELLOW SENATORS VOTE TO DENOUNCE DURENBERGER, 96-0. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe